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President Obama statement on sequestration (transcript, video)

But what I can't do is ask middle-class families, ask seniors, ask students to bear the entire burden of deficit reduction when we know we've got a bunch of tax loopholes that are benefiting the well-off and the well-connected, aren't contributing to growth, aren't contributing to our economy. It's not fair. It's not right. The American people don't think it's fair and don't think it's right.

So I recognize that Speaker Boehner has got challenges in his caucus. I recognize that it's very hard for Republican leaders to be perceived as making concessions to me. Sometimes, I reflect is there something else I could do to make these guys — I'm not talking about the leaders now, but maybe some of the House Republican caucus members — not paint horns on my head. And I genuinely believe that there's an opportunity for us to cooperate.

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But what doesn't make sense — and the only thing that we've seen from Republicans so far in terms of proposals — is to replace this set of arbitrary cuts with even worse arbitrary cuts. That's not going to help the economy. That's not going to help growth. That's not going to create jobs. And as a number of economists have noted, ironically, it doesn't even reduce our deficit in the smartest way possible or the fastest way possible.

So in terms of going forward, my hope is that after some reflection — as members of Congress start hearing from constituents who are being negatively impacted, as we start seeing the impact that the sequester is having — that they step back and say, all right, is there a way for us to move forward on a package of entitlement reforms, tax reform, not raising tax rates, identifying programs that don't work, coming up with a plan that's comprehensive and that makes sense. And it may take a couple of weeks. It may take a couple of months, but I'm just going to keep on pushing on it. And my view is that, ultimately, common sense prevails.

But what is true right now is that the Republicans have made a choice that maintaining an ironclad rule that we will not accept an extra dime’s worth of revenue makes it very difficult for us to get any larger comprehensive deal. And that's a choice they're making. They're saying that it's more important to preserve these tax loopholes than it is to prevent these arbitrary cuts.

And what's interesting is Speaker Boehner, just a couple months ago, identified these tax loopholes and tax breaks and said we should close them and raise revenue. So it's not as if it's not possible to do. They themselves have suggested that it's possible to do. And if they believe that in fact these tax loopholes and these tax breaks for the well-off and the well-connected aren’t contributing to growth, aren't good for our economy, aren't particularly fair and can raise revenue, well, why don’t we get started? Why don’t we do that?

It may be that because of the politics within the Republican Party, they can't do it right now. I understand that. My hope is, is that they can do it later.

And I just want to repeat, Julie, because I think it's very important to understand, it's not as if Democrats aren't being asked to do anything, either, to compromise. There are members of my party who violently disagree with the notion that we should do anything on Medicare. And I'm willing to say to them, I disagree with you, because I want to preserve Medicare for the long haul. And we're going to have some tough politics within my party to get this done.

This is not a situation where I'm only asking for concessions from Republicans and asking nothing from Democrats. I'm saying that everybody is going to have to do something. And the one key to this whole thing is trying to make sure we keep in mind who we're here for. We are not here for ourselves, we're not here for our parties, we're not here to advance our electoral prospects. We're here for American families who have been getting battered pretty good over the last four years, are just starting to see the economy improve; businesses are just starting to see some confidence coming back. And this is not a win for anybody, this is a loss for the American people.

And, again, if we step back and just remind ourselves what it is we're supposed to be doing here, then hopefully common sense will out in the end.

Q It sounds like you're saying that this is a Republican problem and not one that you bear any responsibility for.

THE PRESIDENT: Well, Julie, give me an example of what I might do.

Q I'm just trying to clarify your statement.

THE PRESIDENT: Well, no, but I'm trying to clarify the question. What I'm suggesting is, I've put forward a plan that calls for serious spending cuts, serious entitlement reforms, goes right at the problem that is at the heart of our long-term deficit problem. I've offered negotiations around that kind of balanced approach. And so far, we've gotten rebuffed because what Speaker Boehner and the Republicans have said is, we cannot do any revenue, we can't do a dime's worth of revenue.

So what more do you think I should do? Okay, I just wanted to clarify. (Laughter.) Because if people have a suggestion, I'm happy to — this is a room full of smart folks.

All right — Zach Goldfarb.

Q Mr. President, the next focal point seems to be the continuing resolution that’s funding the government at the end of the month, that expires at the end of the month. Would you sign a CR that continues the sequester but continues to fund the government? And in a related point, how do you truly reach the limits of your persuasive power? Is there any other leverage you have to convince the Republicans, to convince folks that this isn’t the way to go?

THE PRESIDENT: Well, I’d like to think I’ve still got some persuasive power left. Let me check. (Laughter.) Look, the issue is not my persuasive power. The American people agree with my approach. They agree that we should have a balanced approach to deficit reduction.

The question is can the American people help persuade their members of Congress to do the right thing, and I have a lot of confidence that over time, if the American people express their displeasure about how something is working, that eventually Congress responds. Sometimes there is a little gap between what the American people think and what Congress thinks. But eventually Congress catches up.

With respect to the budget and keeping the government open — I’ll try for our viewing audience to make sure that we’re not talking in Washington gobbledygook. What’s called the continuing resolution, which is essentially just an extension of last year’s budget into this year’s budget to make sure that basic government functions continue, I think it’s the right thing to do to make sure that we don't have a government shutdown. And that's preventable.

We have a Budget Control Act, right? We agreed to a certain amount of money that was going to be spent each year, and certain funding levels for our military, our education system, and so forth. If we stick to that deal, then I will be supportive of us sticking to that deal. It’s a deal that I made.

The sequester are additional cuts on top of that. And by law, until Congress takes the sequester away, we’d have to abide by those additional cuts. But there’s no reason why we should have another crisis by shutting the government down in addition to these arbitrary spending cuts.